Ducrot



Jan. 31, 1956 A. DUCROT I 2,732,567

CONVERTIBLE SETTEES Original Filed July 18, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 68a??- Duc RoT Jan. 31, 1956 A. DUCROT CONVERTIBLE SETTEES Original Filed July 18, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIVVIVT6 R IABERT DucReT Jan. 31, 1956 A. DucRo'r 2,732,567

CONVERTIBLE SETTEES Original Filed July 18, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTaR AQBERT DucRoT 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed July 18, 1949 INVEA/ER #48521- .Ducxw" United States PatentO CONVERTIBLE SETTEES Albert Ducrot, Paris, France Original application July 18, 1949, Serial No. 105,303, nowl'ateut No. 2,673,355, dated March 30, 1954. Diggelslgilnd this applicationAugust 10, .1953, Serial No.

Claims-priority, application France July 21, 1948 2 Claims. ((15-38) porting legs have been made-in the co-pending U. S.

patent application Ser. No. 105,303, filed July 18, 1949, now Patent No. 2,673,355.

An improvement over the arrangement-described inthe aforementioned patent applications resides in the fact that the seat frame is hinged tothebottom of the back frame which in its turn is hinged at its top end to the top end of the end section of said springimattress.

A further improvement consists in so hing ing the parts to one another that as the furniture is unfolded from its settee to its bed condition the seat frame will be overturned together with the back frame and come to a position in which it hangs behind the same and close thereto.

In this manner, the spring mattress is accessible from three sides thereof and the system composed of the back and the seat frames stand clear of the head end of the bed sufiiciently to allow of tucking in the bed clothes at the wall side of the bed.

A particular embodiment of a convertible settee according to my invention will now be described by way of example, reference being bad to the drawings appended hereto, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the furniture in its settee condition.

Figure 2 is a side view of the same without its side lining.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view showing the furniture with its seat frame swung up parallel with the back.

Figure 4 is a similar view showing the furniture in its partly unfolded condition.

Figure 5 is a similar view of the furniture in its fully unfolded condition.

The bed frame is comprised of two sections a and b pivoted to each other at 1 and made up of angle irons between which latticed steel ribbons 2 provide the spring mattress and are anchored thereto by means of coil springs 3 in a well-known manner. Pivoted at 4 and 5 to sections a and b are legs 6 and 7 interconnected by a lever 8 pivoted at 9 to section a and a link 10, all of this in a well-known manner.

The back d consists of a metal frame 11 in which latticed steel ribbons 12 are resiliently stretched on which springs 13 are backed that support the stufiing 14. The frame 11 is pivoted at 15 to a pair of brackets 16 secured to the one end of the bed section b, the length of said brackets being substantially'equal to the'thicknes s of that portion of the hair mattress which is accommodated between the spring mattress and the back of the furniture in its settee condition. The width of section b of the bed as well as the location. of the pivots 15 on the sides of the back frame are so chosen that in the settee condition (see Figs. 1, 2) the lower edge of the back is substantally on a level with the top side of the hair mattress, and its upper edge at the normal level of a settee back and that in the bed condition of the furniture (see Fig. 5) the lower edge of the now upset back almost reaches the floor while its upper edge runs at a distance of, say, to cms. above the floor, which provides for an easy tucking of the bed.

In this embodiment, arm rests e are provided which are pivoted at 17 to the sides of the back frame in such a manner that they can be given an overhanging horizontal position (see Fig. 2) or be erected and laid against the back frame when it is desired to unfold the piece of furniture (see Figs. 3 and 4). The length of said arm rests may be such that the same will extend down to the floor in the fully unfolded (bed) condition of the furniture as shown in Fig. 5 and will thus assist in the propping of the upset back.

The seat -f of the settee comprises a metal frame 18 latticed with resiliently stretched steel ribbons 19 on which one .or several cushions 29 are laid. The frame 131s pivoted at 21 to brackets 22 rigid with the frame 11 of the back and the length of which issuch that the seat can be erected into engagement with the stuffing 14.

In the example shown, the cushions 20 are removablc and haveto be taken away before the seat is swung erect; consequently, what comes into engagement with the back as a whole are the frame 18 and the ribbons 19.

Of course, where the cushions 20are rigid with the frame 18, the overhang of the'brackets 22 should be increased to a length corresponding to the overall thickness of the back and the seat.

When it is desired to unfold the furniture and once the removable cushions have been taken away (see Fig. 3) the seat frame is swung erect and rested on the back, whereafter the back is tilted together with the seat frame about the pivots 15 (see Fig. 4) while the section b of the bed is pivoted in the direction of the arrow F about the pivots 1 until the back stands upside down and the section [2 lies in its horizontal position as shown in Fig. 5.

The unfolding process requires but little exertion since the system d, f is substantially balanced due to its centre of gravity being located close to the axis through pivots 15. One the other hand, the tilting of the system b, c, e about the axis through 1 is not attended with a heavy fall since the back is connected at either side thereof which the related rocking leg 7 by a link 23 in such a manner that the overturning of the back will result in the erection of the legs 6 which are interconnected with the legs 7 through levers 8 and links 10. Owing to such a linkage, the bed is raised progressively in proportion as the back is lowered, with the consequence that the centre of gravity of the whole system of movable sections remains at a substantially constant level.

The converse action takes place when the furniture is packed together again by lifting the system b, c, e and rocking the back forwards, the manipulation then being just as easy. The force to be exerted can even be reduced to what is just necessary to overcome the friction that occurs in the bearings and the resistance to folding of the hair mattress. In fact, the said resistance can be overcome easily by pressing said mattress with ones hand laid thereon right above the axis through pivots 1 and at the same time pulling the top of the back forwards,

i. e. contrawise to the direction hhown by the arrow F in Fig. 4, with ones other hand.

The mechanism is concealed at the front end and along the sides of the furniture by suitable panels 24, 25, the panel 24 being backed by panel 27 of a height slightly greater than the thickness of the mattress c, secured to section a and to the sides of the back the two panels 24 and 27 constituting the settee front. The upper edge of the panel 27 serves as a support for the front edge of the seat structure hinged to back d at 21.

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 105,303, filed July 18, 1949, now Patent No. 2,673,355.

What I claim is:

1. A convertible settee-bed comprising a first mattress-supporting frame, another mattress-supporting frame hingedly connected through one end to said first frame, said first mattress-supporting frame being adapted to form an angle of about 90 relative to said other frame to act as a seat, and also to be positioned in coplanar relationship therewith in the bed condition of the structure, horizontal pivot pins mounted at one end of said first frame, a back pivotally mounted on said pins at about mid-height, a seat structure hingedly connected to the lower end of said back, said back and seat constituting a hinged unit adapted to be tilted back bodily outside said first and second mattress-supporting frames, a first set of legs hingedly mounted on said first frame, the fulcrum of said first set of legs being substantially coincident with the centre of gravity of said unit in its unfolded condition, another set of legs hingedly mounted on said other mattress-supporting frame, links pivoted on the one hand on said other frame and on the other hand on said legs, whereby their movements will take place in unison therewith, and other links pivoted on said first set of legs and on said back, above the pivot axis of said back.

2. A convertible settee-bed comprising a first mattress-supporting frame, another mattress-supporting frame hingedly connected through one end to said first frame, said first mattress-supporting frame being adapted to form an angle of about 90 relative to said other frame to act as a seat, and also to be positioned in coplanar relationship therewith in the bed condition of the structure, horizontal pivot pins mounted at one end of said first frame, a back pivotally mounted on said pins at about mid-height, a seat structure hingedly connected to the lower end of said back, said back and seat constituting a hinged unit adapted to be tilted back bodily outside said first and second mattress-supporting frames, an L-shaped panel of a height slightly greater than the thickness of the mattress and disposed substantially vertically endwise of said other frame on the side opposite to said back, said panel constituting part of a settee front member and supporting the edge of the seat structure opposite the edge hinged on said back, a first set of legs pivotally mounted on said first mattress-supporting frame at a point substantially coincident with the centre of gravity of said first and second frames in their unfolded condition, another set of legs pivoted on said other frame, a plurality of links pivotally mounted on the one hand on said other frame and on the other hand on said legs, whereby their movements will take place in unison therewith, and other links pivotally mounted on said first set of legs and on said back, above the pivot axis of said back.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,649,719 Meisner Nov. 15, 1927 2,081,374 Hall et a1 May 25, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS 54,905 Germany Jan. 21, 1891 495,953 Great Britain Nov. 22, 1938 747,974 France Apr. 4, 1933 

